


Marked, Matched, and Mated

by alexwrites



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Mates, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-26
Updated: 2014-02-26
Packaged: 2018-01-13 20:39:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1240030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alexwrites/pseuds/alexwrites
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He tried to use his voice again and this time it worked, but instead of saying all the things he wanted to say the only thing that came out was<br/>“Jesus Derek pull up your pants we’re in public” </p>
<p>Sterek Soulmates AU where everyone is born with a mark on their body. Stiles has given up on finding his true mate and decided to try to settle for someone with a similar mark. Takes place after the events of 3A, with slight alterations.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Marked, Matched, and Mated

**Author's Note:**

> So this was supposed to be another drabble but ended up being a lot longer then I intended.

They’re called soul marks, that obviously wasn’t the scientific term for it but it’s what everyone called them, the little peach colored marks that everyone had somewhere on their body. The cool thing, well at least the thing Stiles thought was cool, was that everyone’s looked different. Some have a single mark, like Scott’s crescent shaped one under his right eye which was about the size of a penny. But some, like stiles, had a cluster of them. He has five small circles –each about the half the size of Scott’s– tracing down in an uneven line underneath his pelvis. When Stiles was younger he would connect the little dots with a pen making a zigzagging line in black ink, but his mom would always complain that the ink would get on the inside of his boxers and stain just about every pair he owned. When she died Stiles finally stopped doing it.   
Most people chose to hide their marks if they could, it was considered something private to a lot of people because it was the only visible part of your soul, and although most people would say everyone’s soul mark was different that wasn’t exactly the case. No matter what kind of mark you had there was one person in the world who had an identical mark, your soulmate. Although Stiles always thought the term “soulmate” was too cheesy so he usually referred to people with matching marks as soul matches, or just matches. Because that’s what they were, a match, or pair and everyone no matter who they were had a match. Stiles had never shown anyone other then his parents his marks, not because he was one of those people who felt it was too private but because if she showed anyone they would also get an eyeful of his junk. Scott on the other hand had shown just about everyone in Beacon Hills his mark, although that’s because his was on his face and there was really no way to hide it. Stiles thought Scott’s mark was perfect for him though, nice, open and stretches a bit every time he smiles. A perfect representation of Scott’s soul. So no one had been as happy for Scott as Stiles was when the new girl, Allison, had walked into their first period class last year with a mark identical to his best friend’s. No one had been as happy for Scott as Stiles was, or as jealous.   
Scott and Allison were inseparable from that moment on and Stiles would have probably bombarded him with questions about his souldmatch connection with Allison if a more pressing matter hadn’t arisen.   
Werewolves.  
So yeah that was a thing, a very big thing but even with the supernatural turn his life had taken he still wanted to find his match like Scott had. He wanted to find them so bad that he caught himself sneaking quick glances at the boys in the locker room and attempting to casually bring up mark locations with the girls he knew, but no one in Beacon Hills seemed to have his matching mark.   
But then there was Lydia Martin.   
Lydia was all soft curves and quick wit and she made Stiles’ heart rate speed up every time she was near him. Lydia, who showed a generous amount of skin with her short dresses and strapless shirts, but no matter how much of her body Stiles had seen he had never even caught a glimpse of her mark before. She had never talked about it with anyone either because she was type of person who considered her mark private so the location of her mark was a complete mystery. And that’s what gave Stiles the hope that maybe Lydia could be his match. That would explain the almost obsessive connection he felt like he had with her, although she never gave him the time of day. But that dream was shattered the night he and his father found her, after she went missing, stumbling out of the forest completely nude except for the leafs and twigs caught in her hair. She had lifted her arms away from her chest as she asked for a coat and that’s when Stiles saw it. A single thin mark that stretched out in a line that started at the bottom center of her ribcage and curved up and around her right breast like some sort of snake. It was the same mark that Stiles had seen –and even made fun of– on Jackson Whittemore in the locker room everyday. Suddenly the strange mark that Stiles teased Jackson about so many times didn’t seem so funny anymore. So Stiles stopped obsessing over finding his match after that night. Not that he had time to anyways between dealing with Jackson being the Kanima, the human sacrificing, and Deucalion and his murderous pack of alphas. So at the time finding his soulmatch was the farthest thing from his mind. But then Peter killed Jenifer, Scott became a true alpha, and Scott and Derek chased out the remaining members of the alpha pack out of Beacon Hills and issues like finding Stiles’ match started being relevant again.   
“What about Cora? You two seemed to get along well” Scott said from where he was sitting on the locker room bench.  
“Nah, Cora has a weird lumpy square mark behind her ear”  
“How did you even notice that Stiles?”   
“I’m observant”   
Scott snorted “more like obsessive”   
Stiles reached over and smacked him on the arm with the shirt he was about to change into.  
“I’m not obsessed, I just want to find my match so I can get it over with and I don’t have to keep worrying about having another letdown like with Lydia okay. I’m pretty sure my mental state can’t handle another disappointment like that.”  
Scott made some sort of comment after that but Stiles missed it because he was shoving his shirt back over his head   
“What did you say?” he asked.   
“I said Danny’s throwing a black light party tonight and I hear there’ll be collage students there, why don’t you come with me and Allison? I mean if you know no one at Beacon Hills High is you match you might have better luck looking for them in other places.”  
“I don’t know”  
“Oh come on! The worst thing that could happen is you don’t find your match.”  
“Alright alright, I’ll go”  
-

That apparently was not the worst thing that could’ve happened because one minuet Stiles was having a pretty good time dancing and making out with some cute girl named Caitlin -who had a heart shaped mark on the corner of her mouth- and the next minuet they were being attacked by some psycho hunters from out of town who had quite literally tried to set all the pack members on fire. So that’s why Stiles was standing in Derek’s loft with Scott, Allison, Lydia, and Isaac all five of them completely naked and holding their gasoline soaked clothes in their hands.  
“What’s the worst that could happen? Right Scotty?” Stiles awkwardly nudges Scott with his elbow and Scott’s face breaks out into a grin before he points down at where Stiles is attempting, and failing, to cover his crotch with his hand that’s not holding onto this wet clothes.   
“Speaking of not finding your match, nice mark you should definitely show it off more”  
Allison laughed from where she was hiding herself behind Scott’s bigger body.   
“Oh god can we please not talk until we’re all fully clothed and no longer in danger of bursting into flames at the slightest spark” Lydia snapped, her hair and makeup still miraculously in place even after just being attacked by hunters less then ten minuets ago.   
But before anyone could reply Derek walked back into the loft, a bunch of oversized shirts and sweats in his arms.   
“Get dressed now” he said trying his hardest to avoid looking at anyone, as he shoved the clothes in their general direction.  
“Yeah most people in town already think you’re a murderer, the last thing you need is someone to walk in and see you in a room with a bunch of naked and wet underage students” Stiles said, picking up a ugly grey shirt and matching pants.   
Derek glared in Stiles direction mouth open to make some sort of remark but suddenly he froze, as if he had forgotten that everyone other then him was still nude. He stared at Stiles a moment and when he meet his eyes something about it was… different. Almost every time Derek and Stiles interacted Derek was always pissed off or too busy trying to get them out of danger to be upset- no even then he still looked angry at something. But now it was different he looked at Stiles and there wasn’t any anger, there was just awkwardness –which probably had to do with the fact that he was butt naked– and something that looked a little bit like he was trying to work out a hard math problem. At the time Stiles didn’t think anything of it, he just assumed he was still thinking about the hunters and how to deal with them with his new Scott inspired “no killing” motto. Stiles changed into the too big clothes along with everyone else and when he looked up again Derek was already walking away with their gasoline soaked cloths presumably going somewhere to get rid of them. 

-

A few days later Stiles was standing at his locker attempting to shove his backpack into the narrow space when someone walked up next to him.  
“Hey are you busy?” Danny asked, eyeing Stiles as he struggled with his bag.   
“Nope, I’ve got a free period next, why what’s up?”   
“Do you think we can talk somewhere private?”   
That was weird because Danny usually did his best to avoid talking to Stiles if he could because for some reason Stiles got extra obnoxious when talking to him. There was just something about Danny that made Stiles completely lose his filter, so he usually spends every one of their conversations trying to get him to admit he finds Stiles attractive. So whatever Danny wanted to talk about it must be important. So Stiles agreed and lead him back into the now empty gym locker room.   
“So I was talking to Jackson yesterday” Danny started, awkwardly tugging his backpack higher up onto his shoulder. Yeah this was definitely going to be an important conversation because Danny was never awkward he was always calm and friendly with everyone, that’s probably why he was the only one in school other then Lydia who could deal with Jackson.   
“And I guess Lydia had mentioned to him how she had seen your mark the other day after the party” he continued.   
“Wow leave it to Lydia and Jackson to go around blabbing about my mark, you know a lot of people consider that private information what if-”  
“Is it true” Danny blurted out, stopping Stiles’ rant about privacy.   
“That she saw my mark? Yeah, probably, why does it matter?”  
“And it’s a group of circles above your thigh?” Something about the way Danny’s voice jumped up a pitch when he spoke made Stiles heart start thudding in his chest.   
“Wait, do you?” He gestured at Danny’s pants.   
“Yeah, I think” he said and Stiles felt his hands start to shake and his mouth go dry.   
“We should check you know, just to make sure”   
Danny nodded and started undoing the button on his jeans. Stiles is not going to lie, Danny taking off his pants has been a frequent fantasy of his but right now there was absolutely nothing sexual about it. It was nerve wrecking because this was the moment his life could change forever, this was something he had spent his entire life waiting for. So he rushed to tug his own pants and boxers down so they could compare their marks. Then he saw it, a line of small perfect circles in the exact same pattern and spot as Stiles’ marks… except there were six circles instead of Stiles’ five.  
“It’s different” Danny said after a moment, letting out a breath that he had obviously been holding in since they started removing their clothing. Stiles laughed and quickly pulled his pants back up.  
“Just barely” he found himself saying as he watched Danny zip himself up.   
It was a known fact that people with similar marks worked well together, obviously not as well as matched pairs but there are a lot of cases when people can’t find their matches or when their real soulmate dies they end up with someone who has a similar mark, the next closest thing to their real soulmates. But there are some people who absolutely refuse to get involved with anyone who wasn’t their match because the truth was if your partner did find their soulmate when they were still with you they would automatically leave you for their match, because there has never been a case of someone meeting their match and not wanting to be with them. So getting involved with someone who was so close to being your soulmate was risky because they tended to get more attached to each other then people with completely different souls. But Stiles still hadn’t found his match yet and Beacon Hills isn’t the biggest of towns so if he hadn’t found them by now the odds of him ever finding them here were slim to none. He could always leave town to look for his match but Stiles could never leave his father and Scott behind, so he didn’t have any plans of ever leaving Beacon Hills.   
Danny was obviously having a similar train of thought as Stiles was because he just stood there staring at him, like he was really taking Stiles in for the first time.   
“Do you wanna try going out with me?” the words left Stiles mouth before he had the chance to process the seriousness of them. Like he had said before there was something about Danny that made him lose his filter, it was probably because of how similar their souls were.   
“Yeah I do” Danny said, smiling one of his swoon worthy smiles that had half the school tripping over themselves to get at him, and stiles realized just how damn lucky he was even if Danny wasn’t his true match. So he returned his grin and they started going out. 

-

By the end of the week everyone and their mother knew that Stiles and Danny were now a thing and because Danny had explained to Stiles he felt that his mark was a private thing and would appreciate it if Stiles didn’t say anything about his mark to anyone, Stiles gladly agreed. So when people started to notice that that awkward kid Stiles was now suddenly going out with one of the most popular guys in school immediately everyone jumped to the conclusion that they had found out that they were soulmates. Every time someone would ask Stiles if Danny was his match he would just wink and say it was a private matter because Danny’s mark wasn’t something he had the right to tell people about. So naturally everyone assumed they were matched and almost everyone in the town was talking about it, which was why Stiles now found himself sitting at the dinner table with his father. His dad came home from work that evening and immediately said “Sit down Stiles, we need to talk”. Normally that phrase would send Stiles into a panic, but because he already had an idea of what was coming he was able to sit down at the table calmly.   
“So I hear you’re dating that Mahealani boy” his dad blurted out, obviously wanting to get straight to the point.   
“Yeah I am” Because after the whole werewolves issue he didn’t find anything else worth having to lie to him about.   
“And he’s your soulmate?”  
This was the part he hopped his dad wouldn’t ask because he knew how he felt about non matched couples getting together so young.   
“No, we have similar marks but he’s not my match”   
His dad sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.  
“Stiles… you know that’s a big risk if you or Danny find your match when you’re still together. It’s gonna hurt like hell, for both of you.”   
“Dad, do you honestly think I didn’t already take all that into consideration? I’ve thought it through and I’ve talked to Danny about it, we agreed we would be fine.” The sheriff stares at him for a moment, obviously thinking things over.  
“Its just that’s a lot of responsibility for someone so young”  
“Dad, I’m just tired of being alone. Almost everyone I know had already found their match and I just wanna be happy like everyone else.” His dad groaned into his hands before finally getting up from the table  
“Well, how can I argue with that” so he didn’t. 

-

Being with Danny was nice, after all he’s handsome, smart, and surprisingly funny. They spend a lot of time group dating with Lydia, Jackson, Scott, and Allison and it’s nice for a while so nice that Stiles could almost forget that he was actually meant to be with someone else. Especially during those late nights in the back of his car with Danny pressing his lips to Stiles’ and tracing his fingers down fingers down his mark. But every so often there are moments when he’s reminded, like now, hanging out at some all night diner after a lacrosse game. Everyone was sitting around and chatting about how good the game was well everyone except Scott and Allison who were curled up practically on each others lap in the corner of their side of the both. It wasn’t the public display of affection that got to Stiles it was the way they were looking at each other, like they could care less about anything going on in the world around them, like they were the only things that mattered. Watching them gave Stiles a pain in this chest, a yearning for his true soulmate but then as if he could feel exactly what Stiles was thinking Danny reached over and threaded his fingers through Stiles, offering him a small smile. Jackson who was sitting on Danny’s other side was still going on and on about how no other team stands a chance against them, not when we have three wolves on their team- and speaking of werewolves Scott suddenly tore his eyes away from Allison and was looking over in the direction of the door, Jackson doing the same a second later.   
“What’s wrong?” Allison asks, tensing as if she was getting ready to spring across the table and attack any moment.   
“Just Derek” Scott says, and sure enough Derek strolls in through the door a second later. He heads straight towards their table and glances uncomfortable towards Danny before looking over at Scott.   
“Can I talk to you alone”   
“Its fine Danny already knows” Jackson says, shoving one of his fries into his mouth and Derek glares in his direction.  
“Have you told everyone in Beacon Hills High about werewolves?” Derek snaps, eyes glowing blue.   
“He’s my best friend and besides he’s Stiles match, so He was bound to find out eventually”  
The blue bleeds out of Derek’s eyes and he looks over at Stiles for the first time that night. It’s the same look he gave him that night in his loft, but this time Stiles isn’t naked or covered in gasoline so there’s no reason for Derek to be looking at him like that.   
“Derek” Scott suddenly snaps, and Derek immediately breaks his eye contact with Stiles.   
“What did you need from me” Scott says, his features are completely human but the alpha is clear in his voice.   
“I sent Isaac to look into those hunters a few hours ago and he still hasn’t returned”   
Scotts silent for a moment thinking things over before he glances around the table  
“Jackson go with Derek, Allison get your dad then meet up with Derek. Danny get a hold of the sheriff and Lydia and Stiles come with me” Immediately everyone starts getting up from the table but Derek places a hand on Stiles’ chest and pushes him back towards the booth.  
“There’s no need for Stiles to come, and if Lydia doesn’t sense that Isaac’s life is in danger then she should stay behind too.”  
“Sorry to break it to you dude” Stiles says moving out of the way of Derek’s hand “But I’m going, after all you guys would all be dead if it wasn’t for me. So I’m going.”   
Derek looks over at Scott  
“He’s going” Scott says and Derek doesn’t argue. 

-

So that’s how Stiles ends up two hours later in Derek’s car with him, Lydia, and a sprained wrist.   
“Are you sure you don’t need to go to the hospital?” Lydia asks from the backseat.   
“Na it’s not broken, it’s probably just a sprain.”   
Lydia shrugs and leans back into her seat and looks out the window, like she doesn’t care enough to continuing insisting on a hospital visit like Danny and Allison had.  
“It’s the third house on the right” She says and Derek pulls into her driveway.  
“Well as much fun as this little adventure of saving Isaac and being held captive by hunters has been I think next time I’m taking Derek’s advice and leaving the saving to the supernaturals”   
“You’re a supernatural creature too in cause you forgot” Stiles jokes and Lydia slams the car door behind her in response. She obviously didn’t find it as funny as Stiles did.   
“My house is just–”  
“I know where your house is Stiles” Derek snaps before speeding out of Lydia’s driveway fast enough to make Stiles slam against his seatbelt.  
“Jesus can’t you be more careful”  
Derek huffs “That’s rich coming from the guy with a sprained wrist and probably a concussion”   
“Excuse me, those hunters were trained killers I’m pretty skilled to have gotten away this just this much”  
“More like pretty lucky”   
“Luck is a skill”  
Derek responds by driving even faster.  
“You’re a terrifying driver we’re gonna get pulled over, or killed.”  
“You’re not terrified” Derek says but he slows the car down a little anyways.   
“Yes I am” Stiles lies.  
Derek grips the weal tight enough for it to creak under his fingers.   
“Why do you always lie about everything” he snaps  
“Because I want to see if I can get away with it” Stiles grins but Derek doesn’t look nearly as amused.   
“Well obviously you can’t”  
“What do you mean I can’t? When have you ever caught me in a lie?”  
“Right now”  
Stiles rolls his eyes “Well other then right now”  
Derek is silent for a moment, that same look on his face that he’s been getting whenever he looks at Stiles lately.   
“Danny” he finally says.   
“I don’t lie to Danny”  
“No you lied about him, he’s not your soulmate”   
For a second Stiles thinks Derek sped the car up again but when he glances at the speedometer it’s the same as it had been a few moments before. So that swooping sensation wasn’t the car, it was just Stiles’ stomach.   
“I can’t believe you!” and suddenly he’s angry, not at Derek exactly but that someone else knows he settled for someone with a similar mark… that he couldn’t find his true match.   
“That’s private! I can’t believe you listened to my heartbeat when I was talking about that. Don’t you realize how much of an invasion of privacy that is?”   
“I didn’t listen to your heartbeat Stiles”  
“Well look who’s the liar now, and don’t say you found out because someone told you because no one other than Danny and my dad know. Scott doesn’t even know yet.”   
“I’m sure Scott know, It’s obvious”   
Stiles looks at the street sign they just passed, they’re only about three blocks from his house now.  
“Pull over” Stiles says.  
“Stiles don’t be ridiculous”  
“Pull over or ill jump out”   
Derek sighs and slows the car to a stop and he opens his mouth to say something but Stiles is already out of the car and slamming the door behind him before he gets the chance to say anything. Derek, of course, doesn’t yell for him to get back in the car or follow him till he gives in like they do in the movies, instead he just speeds off so very Derek Hale like. Stiles doesn’t want to think about the fact that he’s paid enough attention to him to even think something like “that very Derek Hale like”. 

-

Stiles avoids Derek the next few weeks and it’s a lot easier then he thought it was going to be, but that’s probably because there hasn’t been any supernatural drama since the hunters so Derek probably hasn’t even noticed that he’s being avoided anyways. Scott on the other hand has been spending almost all his newly free time with him and Allison, and by extension Danny. So Stiles isn’t that surprised when Scott finally brings up what he’s been dreading to hear.   
“So when are you and Danny planning on getting registered?” Stiles freezes, a slice of pizza half way to his mouth. His dad, who had been sitting on the couch with them trying to sneak one of their pizza slices, gets up saying something about having some work to do before leaving the room.   
“Uh” Stiles starts, not sure exactly what he’s going to say yet because he can’t exactly lie, not when Scotts paying so much attention to him.   
Because registering is something you do when you find your soulmate. Basically you go down to one of the many registering offices with your match and you let them know you found each other. Then a doctor checks your marks to make sure they are identical and they legally register you as soulmates. It’s mostly for emergency purposes like in case there’s an accident then all the decisions about your health and everything else would fall to the responsibility of your match.   
“We’re not going to register” Stiles finally says and Scott look at him weird, but thankfully doesn’t comment on it.   
“Well Allison and I are gonna go do it later this week, you and Danny should come and watch. My mom is going to have a small dinner party for us all afterwards”   
“You and Allison aren’t registered yet? You’ve been together forever already.”  
Scott laughs and reaches for another piece of pizza “Yeah well we had other stuff to deal with at the time, but now that things calmed down we have time for it”   
“Well ill come watch you guys, and ill ask Danny if he wants to come too”   
Scott looks up at him like he wants to ask but probably doesn’t want to make Stiles feel uncomfortable so Stiles decides to say something.  
“Please don’t ask”   
and so he doesn’t. 

-

A few days later Stiles is walking out of the school building hand in hand with Danny when a familiar black camaro pulls into the parking lot.   
“Shit” Stiles says and he looks over at Danny  
“Hey I have to get going I really should start getting ready for Scott and Allison’s registry” He says and Danny gives him a nod before pressing a kiss to his lips. Stiles kisses him back but he’s distracted because for some strange reason Stiles can feel that Derek is out of his car now and walking towards them.   
“I really have to go” He says against Danny’s lips and Danny smiles and says goodbye.   
The moment Danny starts walking away Stiles practically runs towards his car on the other side of the parking lot, but of course Derek catches up to him easily.   
“We have to talk” Derek says and Stiles doesn’t even look up as he starts fumbling with his keys.   
“Sorry I don’t have time, I have somewhere to be in a little bit”   
“That’s exactly why we need to talk now” Derek says, and Stiles can practically hear the wolf in his voice.   
“No sor-” Stiles doesn’t get to finish because Derek is grabbing his wrist and practically dragging him back across the parking lot and over to a secluded side of the school building.   
“You can’t go to the registry office” Derek says and there is a weird sense of urgency in his words that he usually only uses when someones in life threatening danger.   
“Excuse you, last time I checked you have no control over what I do besides why in the world would you not want me to go”  
“Because Danny’s not your true match” Derek says and Stiles slams his hand over Derek’s mouth   
“Shut up! What if someone heard you” Stiles is angry again, even more so then when Derek first told him he knew about him in Danny in the car. Did Derek think just because he was settling for someone with a similar mark meant he didn’t even have the right to watch his best friend get registered. He probably thought he was pathetic and unworthy just because he wasn’t as lucky as most people and that thought made Stiles so angry he couldn’t even think straight.   
Stiles rips his hand away from Derek and backs away from him so his back is now against the wall of the school building.   
“Just stay away from me” He says but Derek is stepping in closer to him, closing the gap that Stiles had just put between them.  
“I can’t” Derek says  
“What the hell not?” Stiles is even more frantic now, it’s like a nightmare, someone blurting out loud about how he still hasn’t found his mate. What if someone heard? What if Danny had? or worse what if Scott heard?   
Derek looks just as upset as Stiles, even though he has no right to be. After all he wasn’t the one getting humiliated and Stiles was just about to say all this out loud when Derek did something that shocked him quiet. He started unbuttoning his jeans. Stiles still just stared at him in shock as Derek pulled down his pants and his briefs along with them and that when he saw it… five small circles tracing down in an uneven line underneath Derek’s pelvis. He was Stiles’ match. His soulmate. Stiles’ mind was going about a mile a minuet and he tried to speak but he couldn’t quite get out everything he wanted to say at once instead he let out a sort of squeak. He tried to use his voice again and this time it worked, but instead of saying all the things he wanted to say the only thing that came out was  
“Jesus Derek pull up your pants we’re in public” And Derek did, quickly talking a step back from Stiles as he pulled his jeans back up.   
“You’ve known since that night in the loft haven’t you?” Derek nods and Stiles starts to get upset again, he’s been doing that a lot around Derek lately it’s probably because he’s his soulmate and he can affect his emotions more then most people can.   
“You’ve known all this time and you didn’t say anything?”   
“You’re with Danny” And Stiles starts laughing  
“You thought I was going to register with Danny? He’s not even my match” and suddenly those words don’t hurt nearly as much as they would have a second ago.  
“Are you stupid? you know you can’t register with someone who’s not your soulmate”   
“I wasn’t thinking straight, I just heard Jackson talking about how you all were going down to the registry office today and I went looking for you as fast as I could”   
Stiles sighs and pushes off from where he was leaning against the wall   
“What now” he asks, and Derek just shrugs   
“It’s up to you now, you’re the one in a relationship”   
The thought of leaving Danny makes Stiles miserable but not because he still wants to be with him, all thoughts of anyone else have been completely wiped from stiles’ thoughts with his first glance at Derek’s soul mark. But the thought of hurting Danny is the thing that’s the most upsetting, it was probably one of his worse fears after never finding his true soulmate in the first place.   
“Ill tell him tonight, after the dinner party” Stiles says and Derek agrees.   
“Well Ill see you around”   
“So you’re done avoiding me now?” Derek smiles and Stiles thinks this is the first time he’s ever seen that.   
“Oh so you did notice” He grins back.   
“Of course” Derek reaches out and touches the top of Stiles hand with his fingers, and Stiles wants nothing more then to take Derek’s hand in his own but he can’t, he’s not allowed to, not yet at least.  
So instead Stiles gives him a quick smile and starts walking back to his car calling out “See you later”

-

But of course because the universe for some reason wants to make Stiles’ life more difficult things don’t go as smoothly as planed that night. Stiles, Scott, Allison and Danny were all crowded in Allison’s car on their way to the registration office when they get attacked. Apparently there were two more hunters they didn’t know about from the group that attacked them before. Thankfully these guys were new hunters, they were young, probably still teenagers, and obviously had a very big lack of information when it came to supernatural creatures because they were shooting regular non wolfsbane bullets and they were shooting at everyone, humans included.   
The moment they were attacked Scott howled and a little over a minuet later Derek and Isaac were there trying to help Scott restrain the hunters without killing them. Since she didn’t have any of her weapons on her Allison was standing unconcerned looking by the car along with Danny who has never gotten in a fight in his life and Stiles who’s bat was tucked away under the seat of his jeep at home. The three wolves almost had the two hunters restrained when suddenly there was another shot and Derek got knocked back, a stream of blood poring out from his shirt. Immediately Scott had kicked the gun out of the guys hand before giving up on his “be nice to the underage hunters” strategy and just knocked the teenager out. Stiles knew that the bullet couldn’t kill Derek, it wasn’t laced with wolfsbane and it didn’t even hit his heart but still Stiles felt like someone had stuck a knife in his gut. The thought of Derek hurt; the thought of losing his soulmate made a scream rip out of this throat. Allison was a few steps ahead of Stiles, she had jumped into action the moment the gun had went off and she was already on the floor at Derek’s side trying to dig into the wound to pull out the bullet just in case. Once Stiles got his legs to start working he ran up to Derek, sliding to the ground besides Allison who was still digging her fingers into the hole on the right side of Derek’s chest. Derek squeezed his eyes in pain and Stiles realized he was obviously still hurting. Stiles wasn’t sure if it was because he spends all his time with wolves or if it was because Derek was his soulmate but the thought of someone hurting him even if they were trying to protect him made a protective wave wash over him and block out any type of logical thinking.   
“Don’t touch him!” Stiles yelled, pushing Allison away so hard that she lost her balance from where she was sitting on her knees and ended up falling onto her back. Stiles voice must have been filled with such desperation that Allison just stared at him in shock rather then ignoring him and going back to helping Derek. Next to them Isaac had already knocked out the other hunter and was watching Stiles just like everyone else. Still not thinking straight Stiles thought someone else was going to come and take Derek away or hurt him again so instinctively Stiles gripped onto Derek’s blood covered shirt as tight as he could, not wanting to chance anyone trying to take him away.  
“Stiles” Derek said, his eyes on his chest probably listening to the way Stiles’ heart was hammering uncontrollably.   
“You need to calm down”   
The sound of Derek’s voice released some of the panic building up in his chest and Stiles loosened his grip on Derek’s shirt. Allison took that as an opening and once again she was reaching over and trying to get the bullet out. Stiles almost pushed her away again but Derek had reached over and put his hand on top of his, and that contact was the only thing keeping Stiles from freaking out again. Finally Allison pulled out the bullet and Derek’s body started to heal itself. From the moment Allison backed away, the silver bullet clutched in her hand, Stiles’ mind started to clear again and he looked up to see the two knocked out hunters on the floor and all the others standing around them. Scott was looking at him with understanding, like he had figured everything out just by the way Stiles had reacted…and unfortunately Danny was looking at him the same way.

Scott, Derek, and Allison shoved the hunters in Allison’s car and were taking them somewhere out of town. Isaac was left with the job of taking Stiles and Danny back home in Dereks camaro but thankfully he had enough sense to give them some space before they all piled in the car together.  
“I’m gonna start up the car” he had said, before walking away   
Danny ended up speaking first, the moment Isaac was out of earshot.  
“When did you find out?” He asks  
“Today after school. I’m sorry”  
Danny smiles, and it looked a bit forced   
“Its fine stiles it’s not your fault, its nature.”   
Stiles wants so apologize again but he knows that would just make Danny feel worse.   
“I know we weren’t really friends before but…” he wants to ask if they could be still be friends after this but it sounds so cliché and if things were the other way around and he was in Danny’s place and Danny had said that to him he probably would have just punched him in response.   
“We can Still be friends Stiles” Danny says, because that’s just the way he is, always nice and Stiles is reminded again just how lucky he was to get to spend the time he did with him.   
“Just give me a little time okay?” He asks, and of course Stiles agrees.   
The car ride is a little awkward, and Isaac doesn’t help by trying to make uncomfortable small talk but they get through it. Just like they always do. 

-

A few hours later Stiles finds himself standing outside of Derek’s door, trying to work up the nerve to knock. He doesn’t know if Derek is upset he basically outted him tonight as Stiles soulmate in front of over half the pack. He’s about to walk away and come back another day when Derek opens the door  
“Were you ever planning on coming in or were you just going to stand out here the rest of the day?”  
“Obviously I was just planning on standing out here till I lost my nerve and went home” Stiles admits.   
Derek laughs, and its weird because Derek never laughs, at least he never did before.   
“Come on in” he says and Stiles follows him into the loft.   
“Last time I was here I was naked” Stiles points out.   
Derek raises an eyebrow at him obviously not willing to laugh at every joke Stiles makes.   
“So…” Stiles starts, not knowing what to say or to do and trying to deal with the weird sensation that’s pulling at his skin, like his body is trying to pull itself closer to Derek. So instead he gives up and leans forward and presses his lips to Derek’s. Derek freezes for a second before giving in and kissing Stiles back, his lips moving slowly and surprisingly delicate against Stiles’.   
“It’s been hell” Derek says pulling away slightly.   
“What was?”  
“Knowing you were meant for me but not having you” he admits and Stiles reaches forward and finally links his fingers together with Derek’s.  
“I wanna see it again” Stiles says and Derek knows exactly what he’s talking about.   
“I want to see yours too” he says and Stiles laughs against Derek’s lips  
“What?”   
“I’ll show you mind if you show me yours” Stiles grins and Derek groans as if he just remembered who exactly he’s matched with.   
Stiles laughs again before playfully pushing Derek back and reaching down to start unbuttoning his pants.  
“Ill show you a lot more then just my mark.”  
And so he does.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me at http://lydiaallison.tumblr.com/


End file.
